


The Subject of Nightmares

by MeltingAutumn



Category: Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Gen, Nightmare, Platonic Septiplier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2016-10-17
Packaged: 2018-08-23 02:35:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8310550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeltingAutumn/pseuds/MeltingAutumn
Summary: Mark knows a thing or two about nightmares.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a word spit that ended up this way. Thought I'd post it because why not~

The world was muted.

It was unnatural for the atmosphere to be so silent. A hand raised to his ear, to feel it, to make sure it was even there, and not a figment of his imagination. When his fingers brushed his head, a violent shiver ripped through his nerves mere layers beneath his skin, and he felt cold. So much cold. Water. He felt far away, cast away from his body as though he were a separate entity entirely.

His eyes were closed. Had he done that? He didn't remember. Jack very much so wanted to open them- to see. That would be nice. Instead of opening his eyes, he parted his lips to breathe in.

When nothing happened, he didn't panic. In fact, he realized that he hadn't been breathing for quite some time now. How odd. He tried to move his hand to his lips, but this time his arm didn't obey the simple command. It only remained limp, floating lifelessly like the rest of his form, lost in the sea.

Jack was dying.

A couple stray bubbles escaped from his lips, tickling his cheeks and spiraling upwards in a silent dance, encircling its companions in their desperate escape to the water’s surface above. Logically, he’d be sinking lower, and lower, but he didn’t feel the motion. He felt stagnant, lost in a dark place, somewhere far away. Shivers were constantly racking his body, and his spine became sore from the efforts.

A wave of fatigue washed over him, and the muted world became even quieter.

His mind began to rest.

He just

felt

peace

and

quiet

…

Jack wakes up.

He flinches awake, sucking in a gulp of air with an audible gasp and throwing his arms out to grab something. His left hand finds something soft and warm, and he grabs it, using it as an anchor into reality, and the object in his fist rears back slightly. He hears his name being called in the distance, but it only takes a second to register that it was coming from his friend leaning over him.

“Jack, Jack, hey.” Mark is saying in a soft, assuring voice. Jack blinks his gaze into focus, having to stare for several seconds before realizing he was laying down on a couch, surrounded by friends, and he was gripping Mark’s hoodie in his hand. His mouth was agape, sucking in small pants for air. After a moment, he meekly snaps his jaw shut and lets go.

“Sorry.”

“You good?”

Jack nods numbly, looking down. He can feel the gazes of everyone in the room. “I fell asleep?” He asks softly, looking back up at Mark, who looks concerned.

“Yeah. We were about to head out for the night. …Sorry for startling you.”

Jack blinks. It takes him a second to realize that was Mark’s cue to brush off the situation with the others. He lamely chuckles, scratching his head. “That’s okay. I’m a bit of a spaz when someone shakes me awake.”

Mark looks relieved that he took the hint, but still looks slightly concerned behind his gaze. Jack dares himself to look up at the other people in the room, and he shares opportunities to make jokes of it. He doesn’t think they’re going to let this go. Not that it bothers him too much. He’s glad they could make light of it instead of being concerned about him.

It was just a nightmare.

The people in the room start filtering out as time goes on. Jack is mentally punching himself in the face for that moment, despite everyone’s willingness to brush it off. He feels much more awake now- unsure if he’ll ever fall asleep that night. Mark had driven him to this get-together, so he had to wait until he was ready to depart, even though he was ready to go.

When that time came, Jack felt tension on their walk to the car. They tried small-talk as they did, and he tried his best to sound casual and happy. It almost came effortlessly to him, not because he was faking per-se, but because it was part of who he was.

“What was your nightmare about?” Mark asks casually as he turns the engine on.

Was that meant to be subtle? Jack turns to stare at him for a second, at a loss for words. He honestly didn’t think he’d bring it up so suddenly. Mark catches his gaze when he’s silent for too long, and he smiles warmly. “Hey, I have night terrors like, all the time. It’s fun talking about them sometimes. I’ll tell you one of mine if you tell me what yours was about.”

Jack frowns, watching him carefully before exhaling. “It wasn’t anything too exciting or scary. I just dreamed I was drowning.”

Mark presses his lips together, thinking to himself, and then nods. “That one’s a common one. It means that you’re going too fast in trying to understand your emotions and sub-consciousness. …If I remember correctly, that is. I can look it up later to be sure.”

Jack feels himself chuckle automatically. He couldn’t say he expected Mark to know these kind of things off the top of his head. “You researching this or something?”

“It interests me, yeah.” Mark answers with a sly smile, glancing at Jack out of the corner of his eye. “Dream and Nightmare meanings are pretty cool, because they’re usually right. I’ll tell you my most common ones are natural disasters. But that one has a pretty basic meaning- just about anxiety and fear for certain things. I think. It’s been a while.”

“What about other ones?”

“I know that if you fear your teeth are falling out, it means you’re worried about your physical appearance and getting judged about it.” Mark states, seemingly excited to talk about something he knew so much about. Jack can’t tell wether it’s genuine interest or Mark showing off. He doesn’t know if he minds either way. The roads are quiet, and the car’s blinker is louder than usual, clicking on and off purposefully.

Jack tries to think back to his own nightmares to ask more, because now he’s curious. Lost in thought, he looks out the window, but the forests are moving in a blur, and the sky is a dark and starless void. Too much city light, he supposes. Nothing like back home.

There’s no time to process the car that comes barreling through the intersection on Mark’s side, resulting in a loud collision of metal and squealing tires. The world lurches and refuses to right itself.

Sharp metal pierces Mark’s skin and he screams, deaf to the world around him. His throat is raw, and he feels his arm drag in agony when he moves it. His face feels as though it’s on fire, spreading terror and pain throughout his nerves and body. He can’t help but continue screaming, lost in his own fear and pain, and his eyes screw shut to summon any sort of comfort he can manage. Nothing works, and he drowns in sharp torment, every fiber of his body throbbing and crying out for help.

“What does it mean if you get in a car accident in your nightmare?” Jack asks to his right, as though they were still driving without a care in the world.

 _I don’t know._ Mark’s brain automatically replies, but the words can’t come to his screaming lips. But somehow, Jack hears him anyway.

“Have you ever had a nightmare like that?” Jack asks, turning towards him, looking curious and eager to know, except Mark can see another oncoming car through Jack’s window growing in size with their impending doom. He doesn’t have enough time to scream out a warning before that car, too, barrels into them and sends shattered glass across his lap and arm. Jack wails as the metal grinds into his skin, and the glass skewers his entire right side, and his figure goes limp across the dashboard, blood pooling from several cuts and injuries. His eyes are half-lidded, and Mark somehow knows he’s dead without even checking for a pulse.

Except, despite being dead, Jack blinks, and the blood pooling at his lips doesn’t stop the next few words from coming out of his mouth. “What about a nightmare of a dying friend?”

His eyes turn glossy black. Mark feels himself curling in, his brain fogging and shutting down. The world spun around him, tipping his gravity sideways and causing nausea to crawl up his stomach. “What about a dead Jack?” Jack’s voice asks, even though his lips don’t move. Mark cries out again, feeling blood bubble at his own lips and spew across the steering wheel, feeling his lungs begin to drown.

The sense of death fades all at once, and Mark wakes up sweating and shivering in his bed. He flails wildly, searching for ground and comfort for a moment before forcing himself into a sitting position to give his chest better access to air. He buries his head in the palms of his hands and breathes, gulping in oxygen and feeling the tingle of his body fade with the nonexistent injuries. But moments before, it had been so real, and so painful.

He shivers.

Mark hates nightmares


End file.
